You are in a tavern in one of the larger cities of Calradia. In exchange for a tankard of his favorite mead, a traveller has promised to tell you about what he claims to be the most promising place in Calradia in future years. You sit down at the table across from him and listen expectantly.

“If I’m to tell you about Rindahl, I will do so properly -- from the beginning. It all began back before the fall of the Calrad Empire. Given the geographical position of the Rindahl area, it was a hub for some sorts of trade. The residents of the region made small fortunes because of it. It was a good time for anyone living in the region. Even after the fall of the Empire, Rindahl continued to prosper. It was short-lived. Following the fall, there was a general breakdown in law and order. Highway robbers and common looters ran rampant. Not much different from today. Borders shifted back and forth, and the Rindahl region fell under the control of one kingdom after another. One day a Jarl would sit in authority over the locals, the next it was a Boyar, and the next a Count. After a few years of this, it got to the point that nobody knew who actually had a right to the land, but everybody seemed to have a claim. Given the unstable nature of the region, it slowly became more and more a home for all sorts of filth and degenerate scum.”

The man pauses his speaking and takes a long swig of his drink. He slowly lowers the tankard back to the table and stares off behind you, his mind in a different place. Suddenly, he snaps his attention back to you.

“Where was I? Oh right, after the fall. So..... the Nords, Vaegirs, and Swadians have been bickering over this region for generations. There have been all kinds of heroes or notorious outlaws..... The bloodletters, a clan that even raided Lyonhall, the swadian town there. Afterwards, they were massacred themselves. Their leader was Eyvindur.... Ah, I can’t remember his last name. Oh well. The fighting continued as such until a short time ago. This is currently how the politics stand in the region. He directs your attention to a map.

“On the south shore, near the Zult Marsh, a swamp, there is Lyonhall. This is controlled by the Swadians. For some reason or another, they ran out of heirs to the Indemar family, which was the old noble family that originally claimed Rindahl, and thus the Swadian people, who still had a vested interest in maintaining the region, asked their king to sent a new lord to protect them. I believe they called him the count, or some such thing, hardly fitting, if you ask me. Across the lake, in the forests that grow there, there is an outpost belonging to the Nords known as Ruarden. Finally, far to the east in the badlands, high above the Rin river, whose water fills the lake, there is the Vaegir fortress of Faircliff.

What is Tales of Rindahl Roleplay precisely?

Tales of Rindahl Roleplay is a new roleplay module where you are able to play, and some people call it live, as a character in a realistic looking medieval world. ToR brings opportunities and some realism, as far as the Warband engine allows us. ToR brings serious roleplay. ToR will relive a medieval world, not an arena fight. There will be no hacking and slashing on everyone that you encounter. To us, Serious Roleplay in itself is really different from other types of roleplaying. To us, it's a structured world where every piece of reality is discarded and instead the world of Mount and Blade: Warband and the Lore created act as a surrogate reality for the player to live out the lives of their characters.

We already have an international and growing community around us, and we decided that is was time to also make a thread here, on the TaleWorlds forum, so that also you could read about Tales of Rindahl.

Tales of Rindahl's goal:

Our goal is to roleplay. That is the sole reason why we started this roleplay server/mod. Our goal is serious roleplay. That's why we started this roleplay server/mod, so we can make sure it is. Our goal is creating a medieval world, in Warband setting. Our goal is to give you a new roleplay experience. Our goal is not to make the biggest roleplay server. Our goal is to create one of the best.

Peaceful timesIn the old days, during the zenith of the all powerful Calrad Empire, Rindahl was a mostly overlooked valley located besides the source of the river Rin, being sustained by the mountain range it originates from. The most prosperous village was Lyonhall, then being nothing more than a simple village surrounded by a small wall. The few people that lived in this valley were occupied with their daily tasks of cultivating the land. Bandits were rarely seen in this part of the empire due to it lacking any considerable wealth or possible gain for them. The villagers were having peaceful lives with little to no danger, with the rare exception of danger coming from the local wildlife.

In the last years of the Calrad Empire a harbour was established in Lyonhall. The inhabitants constructed it themselves, and afterwards focused on making ships with the purpose of exploiting the river and using it to conduct trade. They commenced travel directed towards the capital cities and bargained there. The result was the increase of wealth in the land and the augmentation of it’s productive output. The people of Rindahl improved their lifestyle and the fortunate decided to build their estates here, as a trading base. Furthermore, the harbour was also used as a military foothold, further insuring the people’s safety. For that time Rindahl prospered. However prosperity would not be as long as it was expected to be.

Endless ConflictThe prosperous years of the Calrad Empire had come to an end. As she was slowly declining, the nobles started disputing about who was truly worthy of sitting on the throne of the empire. With the death of the last emperor who had no heir, warlords throughout the land sought to realize their ambitions. Men joined their armies or were even forced into them; tyrants and conquerors alike rose up to fulfill their so called destinies. The Calrad Empire became a dangerous place to be.

With the downfall of the Calrad Empire the valley of Rindahl was heavily hampered financially. Caravans from all over the empire were being plundered underway, and would soon cease to have any interaction with her. Production soon stopped because the resources were none existent. The opulent people established in the big cities departed with their fortune which proved to be detrimental to trade causing it to ultimately collapse. Most men capable of fighting sought out their fortune by joining one of the armies spread throughout Calradia, which left only the elderly and the youth to work on the fields and man the workplaces. The few men that stayed behind were set to make weapons and armour for the armies, and to defend themselves and the their kin.

Nobles took up arms against each other for the most mindless disputes or for already dated rivalries. Armies were now constantly clashing everywhere in Calradia with influential nobles attempting to assume control and restore the once great Empire which was now long gone. The civil war spread throughout the land. Brothers fought against brothers, fathers watched as their children were sent off to war and knew that they would never see them alive again. The lands were slowly overcome with bandits and deserters who were indignant of the wars and decided to take things into their own hands to seek out their fortune. The villages were raided, men were killed left and right, their women and children raped and forced into slavery.

As if that wasn’t enough yet, barbarian tribes broke through the empire’s fragile border defenses and invaded the lands from all sides. Those responsible for the safety of the lands were preoccupied fighting their wars and paying little attention to the needs of their suffering people. Slowly however, the nobles heard the plea of their descent subjects and their want for the most plain necessities. The realization of the chaos that had ensued forced the nobles to take action which would benefit the lands. The claimants to the throne gathered their supporters and formed alliances in order to press their claims. And thus several kingdoms were established, fighting an endless war to fulfill their own selfish ambitions. The era of the six kingdoms had begun.

Felonious CommotionRindahl had paid a high toll for this war; most young men never came back and many of those who did return were wounded and incapable of working. Soon thereafter, the newly formed kingdom of the Swadians sent an army to Rindahl. They secured Lyonhall and reconstructed it, restoring the previously pillaged fields and harbour. The army had also recruited many young men who were incapable of fighting, and were set to work the fields to generate a decent amount of food for both the soldiers and the people. After several years, trade slowly flowed back to Rindahl, returning it to it’s previous wealth, as it was before the war. It wouldn’t take long before the first merchants in Rindahl had assembled a considerable amount of wealth. They were those who enriched themselves with the trade of weaponry which was constantly in demand during wartime.

The swift prosperity of the land soon attracted numerous bandit clans seeking their fortune, mostly composed of deserters and looters. Banditry became a daily fear to the people of Rindahl. With so many clans in the area there was chaos even amongst themselves. They started slaughtering each other which made the task of clearing them out easier for the Swadian forces. At some point a notorious killer by the name of Eyvindur Fridrickson arrived in the lands and forced his way into one of the bandit clans, the Bloodletters. He killed and pillaged with his fellow bandits until he decided to challenge the leadership of the clan’s chief. After a duel and the death of the chief he assumed control of the Bloodletters. Eyvindur now fully ambitious sought to destroy or take control of the other clans by using any means necessary to achieve his goals. He committed terrible acts just to achieve the tiniest of advantage. Not before long Eyvindur had destroyed the opposing clans and now the Bloodletters were free to pillage the land on their own.

However, that was not enough for Eyvindur Fridrickson. Filled with greed he constructed a castle by the lake to gain a good strategic position and access to resources and gave it the name Hollow Rook. In the terrible halls of the castle the Bloodletters dragged the men which they did not kill immediately only to sacrifice them to their nordic deity. The screams were heard throughout the nearby villages and struck terror into the people’s hearts. What had happened in those halls would haunt the people of Rindahl for many years to come.

After some time, Eyvindur grew bold enough to directly attacked Lyonhall as an attempt to fulfill his ambitions. His horde cut down the unaware men of the local lord and killed everyone inside along with the nobility. The lords of the nearby lands took notice of this massacre and came together to plan a response. Soon after they marched to Lyonhall to avenge the death of their ally. After a short but hard siege the gathered forces broke through the walls of Hollow Rook. Eyvindur’s men, despite being hardy and strong, were not nearly prepared enough to withstand and defend against an organised military force. The Bloodletters were cut down and Eyvindur Fridrickson was captured and imprisoned. From his cage he could see how his castle was demolished, and only a ruin was left behind, with the bodies of the bandits unburied. After a week had passed, Eyvindur was dragged out of his cage to receive his punishment. Each of his limbs were tied to a horse with each one set on an opposite direction. His head was cut off from his mutilated body and nailed on the broken gate of the ruin. It is being spoken about, that Eyvindur’s face was still smiling when he was nailed on the wall.

The gathered lords could not appoint the new lord of Lyonhall, but instead they sent a letter to the king to ask to appoint a new lord of Lyonhall. The lords decided that Lyonhall itself was to weak to exist for long. They fortified the walls to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. Before they left they appointed a new commander and left a small force to garrison the town.

Clash of KingdomsAs a short peace between the newly formed kingdoms came to an end, the kingdoms surrounding Rindahl turned their attention to seizing it for their own benefit. The people of Rindahl had only recently started to recuperate and were currently in disarray since their former lord and his heirs were slain. The kingdoms saw this as an opportunity to strike while the lands were vulnerable, and so the conflict to claim Rindahl had started, with the Vaegirs, Swadians and Nords fighting to make these lands their own.

The Swadians were the first ones to advance, under the command of the newly appointed commander, Lionel Kastel. He ensured that the Swadian ranks would regain their composure and set them back in line, thus restoring the army’s order. The army advanced and secured an advantageous foothold over Rindahl which ultimately benefited the Swadian war effort. The Nords came sailing up the river Rin soon after, but the Swadians had already influenced the people of the lands and had gained the support of most of the locals. They set up camp and prepared themselves for what they did best. In the same time a small force of Vaegir cavalry made their way to the already torn land, but they choose to remain in the snowy regions on the high mountain plateau and observe how the situation would unfold between the Swadians and the Nords. This conflict continued for many months in which plots, schemes, and strategies were devised by each faction in order to get rid of the other ones. No faction gave up and no matter how many would fall, more soldiers would fill the gap. Rindahl became a priceless location and each of the three kingdoms claimed to have the right to rule it. It was clear that only a decisive victory would allow one faction enough time to secure the land for itself.

The Swadian commander saw an opportunity to strike when he was reported to that the Nords were currently expecting new weapons from their homeland. He lured the Vaegirs into attacking the caravan by making them believe it was carrying Swadian supplies. When news of the ambush reached the Nordic chief he became furious and outraged by the Vaegirs’ betrayal he barked orders at his men. He turned his whole army against the Vaegirs, their former ally. Reports of the advancing Nordic forces reached the leading boyar just in time as he prepared his horsemen. They met on the slopes of the mountain plateau, where a lengthy battle was fought. As the two armies were clashing, the Swadians launched a surprise attack against the two exhausted armies, managing to completely annihilate what was left of both armies. Only a few Vaegirs and Nords escaped and the Swadians had achieved a total victory. The Nordic chief and the boyar were both captured in the fight and imprisoned in Lyonhall.

With this victory the commander claimed the whole of Rindahl for the Swadian Kingdom. The enemy commanders were thrown in the dungeon, their camps were burned and last remaining soldiers fled. The Swadian king demanded a truce with the rival factions in exchange for the safe return of their nobles. The truce ensured peace for the people of Rindahl under Swadian dominance. It was also used to fortify the valley in order to halt off any further campaigns that would most likely be launched after the truce had expired.

Desperate Negotiations A whole decade passed, and the economy of Rindahl slightly flourished again. The people were not at peace though, the constant fear of a hostile army marching on their fields was more than enough to deprive them of their sleep. Meanwhile the Swadian king rewarded the valley of Rindahl to Lord Cyndoril Indemar, who lost his own lands while he was fighting the Sarranids. He had many pressing matters to attend to, ranging from the influx of goods and crucial supplies to the defense of the land against the vengeful adversaries of Swadia. It was clear that Swadian power in Rindahl was declining and that soon they would succumb to the enemy. From the other side of lake Rin came reports of several small groups of Nords hiding in the forest under the lead of a chief named Jarl Stigandr Hafrgeirrson. Lord Indemar sent messengers to Praven, to ask the king for assistance, but he couldn’t spare any men.

With help denied to them the morale of the Swadian garrison fell and some even decided to desert. Those that remained were enough to defend Lyonhall, but not the surrounding farms and villages. The lord attempted to pay off the jarl and get him to withdraw his army out of Rindahl. However, Jarl Stigandr had observed how the Swadian soldiers had deserted and he captured a few of them. He was now fully aware of the desperate situation inside Lyonhall and he refused the offer, stating that he could easily take it after he had slaughtered everyone in the town and had claimed it as his own. He kindly advised Lord Indemar to make a better offer if he wished to survive. When the message reached him he fell silent, not knowing what to say in return. That night, the lord did not manage to sleep because of the worrisome thoughts that plagued his mind. The next morning he sent the messenger back to the jarl offering the northwest part of Rindahl, which was called the Jagged Timberlands, and consisted mainly out of forest. The lord also offered his only daughter, Deandra Indemar, in marriage to the jarl. The jarl would at first not accept the offer, however he was swayed by his younger brother who advised him that it would be for the best if he were to accept. The messenger was sent back with the demand for half the valley and his daughter; otherwise there would be no deal. Pressured as he was and aware of the needs of his own people, the lord accepted this.

A few days would pass before the lord appeared before the jarl along with his daughter to conclude the negotiations. They met on the bridge close to Lyonhall, where the two parts of Rindahl were connected with each other. Lord Indemar and Jarl Stigandr signed the truce papers and proceeded to the last part of the deal. That is when the lord presented his daughter to the jarl, who took her as his bride directly on the spot. When the meeting had come to a close and the Nords were prepared to leave, the jarl demanded that Lord Indemar was to never see his daughter again, so she may forget all about her past life and accept the North as her only home. With much hesitation and tears he accepted and swore to never seek out his daughter.

That decision weighned heavy on the lord. He was overcome by guilt and blamed himself for selling his own daughter and even though he saved many lives he could not forgive himself. As if that wasn’t enough, the king called Lord Cyndoril Indemar back to the capital to answer for handing over a part of the Swadian kingdom. He was stripped of all his fiefs and was left to live the rest of his life in an estate just outside Praven, only out of respect the king had for the lord’s family. The valley of Rindahl, or what was left of it, was given to Count August Freidrich Metrauz. He was a lord without a castle or lands and lived his life at the king’s court. His arrival in Lyonhall is mostly remembered for his initiative in fortifying and strengthening Lyonhall. That was something that lord Indemar had neglected to do which entailed numerous constructions being in a dilapidated state.

The Jagged Timberlands were now part of the Nordic Kingdom and Jarl Stigandr Hafrgeirrson claimed it as his own. He appointed three of his bravest and wisest men as Gothi, to rule under him and advise him. A young druid, named Gulbrandr Tormudson, who had accompanied the jarl’s army during the march to Rindahl, chose the ancient sacred stone circle, known as the Stones of Valdemar, as his home. His knowledge of the Old Gods was immense and on many evenings soldiers, wanderers and by passers would come to sit with him by the fire, to hear tales and sagas being told. The jarl himself decided to build his longhouse not so far away from the stone circle, on a hill. Soon enough, the town of Ruarden would form around it, with its own walls and towers to keep it and its population safe.

The two factions were now under a truce and life in Rindahl flowed somewhat smoothly. Count Metrauz, aware of the dangers that prey on a person with his title, was eager to obtain an heir in order to secure his dynasty’s future. He married a young Rhodok lady named Elian and soon his first son was born, who was given the name Wilhelm Augustus Metrauz. Three years after the birth of their son count Metrauz decided to send his wife and son to the small estate of his wife’s family, in order to keep them away from the dangers in Rindahl. In the next years Count Metrauz grew lonely and desperately sought the company of a woman. Since he could not remarry he resorted to copulating with courtesans. Despite the lord’s attempts to keep this a secret he was inevitably found out which resulted to the decline of his popularity.

Unexpected Guests[/font]Fourteen years had passed since then and Jarl Stigandr Hafrgeirrson ruled with an iron fist, while some even called it tyrannical. In those fourteen years he has had many soldiers and villagers killed for even the smallest of wrongdoing to him. At last, when the Jarl executed a villager only for his amusement, the villagers and even his own soldiers revolted against him. They killed him on the spot but kept his Gothi alive. They were ordered to be burned by the druid Gulbrandr. He sacrificed the Gothi to the Old Gods and ordered that jarls body had to be thrown into the swamp. The Nord King heard the news but did not intervene; he had heard the stories about the jarl and knew them as being the truth. What he did was sending Jarl Arnorr Gloggrsson to Rindahl. Jarl Arnorr came from a still fledgling family and was a good ruler, which is why the king gave him the order to bring rest and peace back in Ruarden. The jarl allowed the people of Ruarden to choose three new Gothi that would rule with him. The druid Gulbrandr Tormudson was also asked to become one of the Gothi, but he declined, stating that he cannot be part of something when he stands above it. Out of respect for his position and age the inhabitants of the valley started to call him ‘The Seer’. The behavior of the Jarl made him and his pregnant wife in their first week already well respected people. She gave birth to a son soon after their arrival. The journey however had weakened her and she died a few months later. Jarl Arnorr was saddened by the death of his wife and blamed his son for it. Finally three years after her death he gave his son a name: Hraustligr.

Count August Freidrich Metrauz and Jarl Arnorr Gloggrsson clashed arms a several times in the years after that, but no big battles were fought. However, fifteen years later, the Vaegirs showed interest in the valley again. It was positioned at their border and it would be most profitable to rule it. The first Vaegirs to arrive in Rindahl were a few horsemen under the lead of the young but aspiring Boyar Pyotr Vorobyov. They mostly kept hiding on the high Northern Plateau, which was covered by the snow most time of the year. From there he observed the movements and tactics of both factions for some time. After the winter he returned back to Reyvadin with many details about the Nords and Swadians. The king gave him the command over the force that had to claim Rindahl again as a part of the Vaegir Kingdom. Boyar Vorobyov first sent out a small building party that would attract little attention in order to build foundations of a new castle of stone. For the next two years they would discreetly complete the necessary groundwork.

Thanks to his network of spies the boyar heard in time that Jarl Arnorr was planning a siege on Lyonhall, because of the weakened Swadian garrison. The Nord and Swadian forces would be occupied enough and he had enough space to act. He called more builders from Reyvadin and requested tons of stones. The stone bridge, which was almost as old as the canyon were it was build over, became the base of his castle. Thanks to the prepared groundwork of his first builders the walls were erected two weeks after already and his keep was halfway. When also the keep was finished the boyar gave her the name Faircliff. By time the Swadians and Nords became aware of this new threat it was too late. Their own armies were weakened after the failed siege on Lyonhall and they didn’t trust each other well enough to turn their army away. By the time they had reworked up their strength the Vaegirs had already secured their position and Boyar Vorobyov claimed the whole Northern plateau as being the lands of the Vaegir king under the rule of himself. The few people that had lived on the plateau for years were already half Vaegir, and they didn't mind this change. The boyar protected their villages and farms, which was enough for them. Soon after that, one of the builders discovered an iron vein on the base of one of the mountains on the plateau and Boyar Pyotr started to exploit a mine and trade in iron, which gave him and later boyars in Rindahl the title ‘Iron Lord’.

In the years after that a small peace was settled by the three nobles. They all had agreed on a truce that would give them time to restore their burned villages and decimated garrisons. The boyar used it mainly to hunt. During the fourth year after, Boyar Pyotr Vorobyov went out on a hunt in which his party encountered a bear. He commanded his party to step aside and allow him to slay the beast on his own. His pride however would be the end of him. Pyotr fought gallantly and managed to slay the bear but he had suffered critical wounds in the fight. He was swiftly taken back to his keep for medical treatment, nevertheless his wounds were beyond help. Boyar Pyotr Vorobyov perished after 2 weeks, but not without making sure that every single man and woman in his keep did taste the flesh of the beast which he had slain before it slew him. His soldiers loved him well and they buried him honourably inside the castle he held so dear. With no heir to rule in his stead, the Vaegir king handed Castle Faircliff to the Romanov family, which rules up to this day.